‘We will win again’: Kneecap respond to threat of terror charge appeal from UK prosecutors

The terrorism charge against Kneecap rapper Mo Chara, real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was thrown out last month.

The Belfast rapper had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at a gig in London last November.  

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring sitting at Woolwich Crown Court told the court that the charge against Ó hAnnaidh was “unlawful” and “null”.

Now, in a statement (via BBC), a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said: “We are appealing the decision to dismiss this case as we believe there is an important point of law which needs to be clarified.”

Kneecap have responded to the reports that prosecutors will appeal against the decision. In a post titled “A Message to the Police (British) State”, they called the news “unsurprising”.

The band’s statement reads: “News of a CPS appeal against the ruling of their own judge is unsurprising. He ruled the charge was ‘unlawful and null’ and it was. It is unsurprising, because the whole process has not been driven by the police or courts, it has been driven by politicians backed up by the British media. This is political policing".

They continued: “There is no ‘important point of law’. The CPS have submitted nothing new in their appeal. What there is though, is a state-wide witch-hunt against Palestinian solidarity. The media were gleefully informed about this appeal before we were.”

The trio described it as a “massive waste of taxpayers’ money, of police time, of court time,” before adding: “We are NOT the story. Yesterday, 104 Palestinians were murdered in Gaza and hundreds more maimed as Israel commits genocide… This is aided and supported by the British state. We will fight you in your court again. We will win again.”

After Chara’s terror charge was dropped last month, he described the case as a “distraction” and said he was considering taking legal action himself against the British state.

Speaking to Virgin Media, he said that legal action was “definitely something we’re going to look into.”

Kneecap have consistently denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah and said that they do not incite or condone violence, despite criticism for their politically-charged live shows.

The band has denied accusations of anti-Semitism, claiming that those attacking the band “weaponize” the false accusation to “distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.”

Kneecap has frequently used their platform at various music festivals to speak out not against the Jewish people but against Israel's war in Gaza.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, multiple UN human rights experts have stated that Israel’s military actions in Gaza amount to genocide, with the International Court of Justice finding claims of genocide plausible. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification announced that people in the Gaza Strip are officially facing “a man-made” famine in the territory.

Israel has rejected the genocide accusations and maintain that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence. Claims Kneecap have vocally rebuked. And continue to do so.